Catholic Christianity
Roman Catholicism has its roots in Bulgaria and the Middle Ages. It was spread among the Bulgarians by Bulgarianized Saxon ore miners in northwestern Bulgaria (around Chiprovtsi) and by missionaries among the Paulician and Bogomil sectarians, as well as by Ragusan merchants in the larger cities. The total number of the Roman Catholics in the country is around 40,000.
Today the bulk of the Roman Catholic population of Bulgaria lives in Plovdiv Province, centred around Rakovski, as well as in some villages in northern Bulgaria. The Banat Bulgarians are a Bulgarian minority in Romania and Serbia adhering to Roman Catholicism. Besides Bulgarians, among the Roman Catholics are also many foreigners.
The Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church, a Byzantine Rite church united with Rome, was formed in the 19th century as part of the Bulgarian church struggle in order to counter the influence of the Patriarch of Constantinople, and has some 10,000 members today.
Read more about this topic: Religion In Bulgaria
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